The Prescription Charges Coalition

The Prescription Charges Coalition is a group of nearly 40 organisations campaigning to end unfair prescription charges for people with long-term medical conditions.

The Prescription Charges Coalition brings together nearly 40 organisations calling on the Government to extend exemption from prescription charges to all those with long-term conditions in England

In recent years, there has been a broad political consensus that the current system is unfair as some long-term conditions qualify people for free prescriptions whilst others don’t. This sense of unfairness has been exacerbated since the introduction of free prescriptions for people living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In May 2009, the then Government commissioned an independent review of prescription charges by Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former President of the Royal College of Physicians. He recommended that all those with long-term conditions should be exempt from prescription charges and outlined how this policy could be introduced. However, later that year it was announced that this would not go ahead.

In October 2010, the incoming Coalition Government confirmed that it would not introduce free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions at this stage, but would ‘explore options for creating a fairer system of prescription charges and exemptions’.